Should I max out my 401(k)?

Should you max out your 401(k)? If you’re making good money, already saving consistently, and have extra cash flow, it can feel like the obvious next step.

But maxing out your 401(k) is not automatically the best financial decision — especially if most of your money is tied up in retirement accounts and you want more flexibility before age 65.

In this episode of She’s Talkin’ Money, I’m breaking down how I actually think through this question with clients. We’ll talk about when employer matching matters, where Roth accounts fit in, why liquidity deserves more attention, and why a taxable brokerage account may sometimes make more sense than immediately increasing your 401(k) contribution.

I’m also challenging one of the most common pieces of retirement advice: that if you’re not maxing out your 401(k), you’re somehow falling behind.

Because the goal isn’t to hit an arbitrary contribution limit. The goal is to build a financial life that gives you options.

We’ll cover:

what I want to know before telling someone to increase their 401(k)

the order I typically think about saving and investing

why Roth money can be such a powerful part of your plan

the difference between an emergency fund and what I call a “freedom fund”

why net worth and financial flexibility are not the same thing

when the tax deduction from a traditional 401(k) is actually worth prioritizing